


Witchcraft Works

by Kiyuomi



Series: Witchcraft [2]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Canonical Character Death, Childhood, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Magic, Tadashi Lives, Witches, hiro is 4 and tadashi is 9, tadashi is a great older brother, though not in chap 1, witch!tadashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-10 21:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4409099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyuomi/pseuds/Kiyuomi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This work is set in the same AU as <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3550760/chapters/7818596">Witchcraft</a> but you do not need to read it to read this. If you do read both kudos to you. There will be clues littered in this fic about the main plot.</p><p>Chapter 4: Parallels<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pain, pain fly away

            Saturdays are Tadashi’s favorite days. It’s the one day of the week that he and Hiro get to spend all day together. Before Hiro went to kindergarten, the two would spend every moment together playing; but now with both boys in school, it was difficult to spend time together outside of helping out with the café. Aunt Cass certainly didn’t want the two running around (they were, after all, children) but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t help pull in customers with their cuteness.

            That is why they were busy from Monday to Friday. For Hiro, school only meant eight to noon. But Tadashi had to stay in sixth grade with a schedule that ran from seven thirty to three, and after coming home, he’d have work to do. It didn’t take long, especially for Hiro, but Tadashi was determined to make every assignment perfect—or as perfect as a nine year old could get.

            Sundays are fun too. Tadashi and Hiro get to go out with Aunt Cass to buy groceries, visit friends and play in the park. Tadashi likes being with Aunt Cass, but just a little, he likes being with just Hiro better.

            So Saturdays are his favorite days.

            This one is spent laboring over robots, identical to every other Saturday in the past two months. Hiro has a passion for putting the pieces together, and when he makes awed “oohs” and “aahs” when Tadashi turns them on, who is he to stop his brother? They work on robots from ten to eight, because Hiro needs to go to bed early and Tadashi likes Saturday morning cartoons (secretly, he likes Digimon a little better than Pokemon, but Hiro wouldn’t ever let him live it down).

            Tadashi’s tinkering over a toy camera to Hiro’s command to change it to a real one. He had told Hiro that they should start with an easier project, but his little brother had nearly cried (crocodile) tears when he began to offer other projects. So he surrendered, and for the past two weeks, grappled helplessly with a camera with nothing inside but plastic and air. The plastic wasn’t even helpful.

            Hiro had stuck to “fixing” his stuffed animal, Bee-bee. The stuffed cat was strangely similar to Mochi, but Hiro had adamantly declared that the two were nothing alike. After having the plush for two years, one day Hiro had brought up the question of why Bee-bee didn’t” talk” like Mochi did. When Tadashi had mentioned a voice chip, Hiro had latched on to the idea. Now, he was most likely done with his pet project. Speaking of…

            “Ow!”

            Tadashi jolted at Hiro’s yelp. Hurriedly, Tadashi shoved the fake camera from his lap and leapt to his feet. Hiro whined pitifully as he clutched his finger. To Tadashi’s growing horror, red was seeping him between hands. Hiro was hurt.

            “Hiro! Hiro, are you okay?” Tadashi blurted, knees locking as he bounded over. He flopped awkwardly, nearing hitting the ground but flung his arms forward first. He ended in an awkward animal-like running pose, but it didn’t matter because Hiro was now beside him, tears threatening to spill over baby eyes.

            “Hurts…” Hiro whimpered, holding out his injured hand. Tadashi winced at the sight of the open cut. Hiro’s middle, ring and pinkie of his left hand had been sliced open, blood oozing from the digits. The cut was deepest in his ring finger.

            Puzzled, Tadashi turned his attention to the ground. Bee-bee sat unhelpfully in the side, but the blood spots on the cat were a little more alarming. Tadashi could see a USB hidden below the plushie, probably Hiro’s intended tool. But what had cut Hiro?

            His unspoken question was answered when Hiro dropped a metal piece onto the floor. Tadashi gawked at the knife, blood along the tip to the handle. Where had Hiro gotten the knife in the first place? How did he even get it up here? For goodness sakes, Hiro is four! Why did he even pick the knife?

            “Ni-chan...” Hiro whined again, pushing his uninjured hand against Tadashi’s arm. That’s right—Hiro is first, always first. The situation could come after.

            “Don’t worry, Hiro. Come on, let’s get you fixed up.” After Hiro had been proven as accident-prone (and not Tadashi, nope not at all), Aunt Cass had made it a number one priority to stock every room with a first aid kit. The one in the shared room was tucked neatly under Tadashi’s bed, as untouched as expected. Not untouched at all.

            “Hurts, Dashi” Hiro repeated, giving his injured hand a weak shake as his brother grabs the kit from under the bed. The white box smoothly slid out, and Tadashi gave Hiro a pat as he unlocked it. Spongebob and strawberries printed bandages lay in a mess besides a half full bottle of alcohol. Tucked in the corner were neat packets of alcohol soaked tissues, of which Tadashi grabbed two.

            “Come on Hiro, let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?” It would be best to move to the bathroom, but Hiro is nothing but stubborn.  Tadashi quickly learned after the first three injuries that Hiro refused to be treated outside the bedroom. Hastily, he ripped open a packet before Hiro could complain.

            “Hurry, Dashi, hurry!” Hiro urged, swinging one leg. The blood was slowing, but a shallow puddle of it was forming in the palm of Hiro’s hand.

            “This is going to hurt, Hiro,” Tadashi warned before he quickly put the tissues to work. Immediately, Hiro jerked backwards, a startled and hurt squeak coming from his mouth. One tissue soaked up the blood that had leaked from the cut while the second worked right on the cut. It was the second that caused Hiro to squirm, muttering “hurt” under his breath.

            The cut wasn’t as deep as Tadashi had thought, and it was a quick clean. Hiro, through trembling fingers, pointed out the blue Spongebob bandages, and in moments Tadashi had his fingers wrapped and left to deposit the blood soaked wipes. He returned to a teary Hiro’s side in moments, and wrapped an arm around his brother.

            “Hiro? Are you okay?” Tadashi asked tentatively. Hiro whimpered in response.

            “… Still hurts. I don’t like it,” Hiro murmured. Tadashi frowned, looking over the hand before a wide grin split his face.

            “Want it to go away?”

            “How?” Hiro quizzed, small eyebrows furrowed. Tadashi grinned, wiggling the fingers on one hand as he turned to face Hiro.

            “Magic touch! Want to try?” Hiro squirmed once more, glancing down at his hurt hand. Deciding that Tadashi was normally right, he rose the Spongebob print bandages to his brother.

            “Okay.”

            Tadashi’s smile seemed to get even wider. He took Hiro’s hand and, in an overdramatic fashion, bowed to it before raising it to his mouth. As he kissed the injured fingers, Hiro stuck out his tongue. Okay, no fairy tale moves then. That was fine.

            “ Itai no itai no tondeke!”

            The effect was instantaneous. Hiro mirrored Tadashi’s wide grin, as he shook his hand. It didn’t hurt! It didn’t hurt!

            With a gleeful laugh, Hiro tackled Tadashi. A squeak escaped from the elder sibling, and the two crashed into the bed. Laughter escaped both of them as they hugged.

            “Thank you Dashi! Thank you, thank you!”

            Tadashi’s laughter calmed to a warm smile as he pulled Hiro to the bed. The two hit it with a thud, Hiro bouncing joyfully as he did so. This time, it was Tadashi who pulled Hiro close.

            “You’re welcome knucklehead.”

            The two spent the rest of the day watching television, playing (and hacking) into games and at one point, forcing Mochi into a cat-sized dress. It led to scratches, hisses and more kicks than they had expected, but they succeeded all the same. Aunt Cass even lent them her camera, the real one, to take pictures. She promised that it would end up in the book.

            Saturdays are Tadashi’s favorite days.


	2. Five Percent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five percent. One twentieth. Zero point zero five.
> 
> It's really, honestly, not that much.

            85% of Tadashi is so, so proud of Hiro. His brother, biologically, is no different from the next. And yet, he continues to astound the world with his thoughts.

            10% of Tadashi is worried about Hiro. His baby brother is still innocent, still young and unknowing and Tadashi wants to protect him. He watches, waiting for the day that Hiro realizes his true potential (late bloomer, he tells himself, late bloomer) but it never happens.

            5% of Tadashi is proud, disgustingly so, of himself. He can do something that Hiro can’t, even though Hiro should. He watches Hiro with soft eyes and encouraging gestures, but it eats him up inside. 2%, he insists, only 2% of him is so arrogant. (It’s bad to lie to oneself, but it’s for Hiro, so it’s okay).

 

            Hiro is 60% proud for himself. He’s a genius—that much is obvious. People want to know what he does, what he can do. He’s proud of himself because he has every right to.

            30% of Hiro idolizes his brother. Tadashi is his father figure, his older brother and his very best friend. There’s no one who can possibly replace what Tadashi is to Hiro.

            5% of Hiro is mischievous (it’s more like 7, but eh) and nerve-wracking. He knows exactly how much he troubles those around him, and sometimes it’s embarrassing to see exactly what he gets into. But it’s fine because at the end of the day, he’s home. Tucked into familiar blankets and fed, Hiro’s troublesome adventures end the same way every day (at least they should).

            5% of Hiro doesn’t exist anymore. It disappeared the day Tadashi did (and he didn’t die, because they didn’t find a skeleton, and Hiro wouldn’t put it past his brother to do miracles in the background). This five percent is filled with fake smiles and too-energetic quotes, carefully pieces together sentences and poses. This five percent is a tower, made of nothing and meant to look like everything.

            Hiro isn’t quite complete but no one else knows, so it’s okay.

            It’s only five percent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I warned you in the tags that happiness was only going to last so long. ^-^  
> Not too many spoilers here for Witchcraft readers. Just a few hints here and there. Reminder to fill in the poll!


	3. Baymax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short piece from Baymax's POV.

Hello. My name

 

Hellloooooooo heaaaaltthhhh oohhh

 

Hello. My name is Bayyyy

 

Hello. My name is Baymax. I am your p-p-p-p-pppppp

 

Hello. My name is Baymax. I am your personal health care companion.

I will now

 

Hello. My name is Baymax. I am your personal health care companion.

Oh no.

I seem to have burst my—oh – oh no.

 

Hello. My name is Baymax. I am your personal health care companion.

Apologizes. I seem to have sprung a leak.

[Shutting down]

 

Hello. My name is Baymax. I am you—your p-p-p-p

 

Hello. My name is Baaayyymaaaaxxxxxx. I I I I I

Ooooh nooooo.

 

Hello. My name is Baymax. I am your personal health care companion.

I will now scan you. Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

 

Hello. My name is Baymax. I am your personal health care companion.

I will now scan you. Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

 

Hello. I am Baymax. I am your personal health care companion.

I will now scan you. Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan complete.

I have scanned you. You are

You are

Youuuuuuu

Scaaaannnn Hello

Hello

Hello

Hello

 

Hello. I am Baymax. I am your personal health care companion.

I will now scan you. Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan in progress.

Scan complete.

I have scanned you. You are

You are

You are Tadashi Hamada. Hello.

You are

You are

Hello

 

Hello. I am Baymax, your personal health care companion.

I will now scan you.

Scan complete.

Your neurotransmitters are elevated, suggesting you are happy.

You are satisfied with your care.

 

Hello. I am Baymax, your personal health care companion.

I was alerted that you may need medical care from your word, “ow”.

On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your pain?

I will scan you now.

Scan complete.

You have a slight epidermal abrasion on your forearm. I suggest an antibacterial spray.

The common ingredient is bacitracin.

You are not allergic to bacitracin, you do have a mild allergy to peanuts.

You have been a good boy. Have a lollipop.

I can not deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care.

 

Hello. I am Baymax, your personal health care companion.

I was alerted that you may need medical care from your word, “ow”.

On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your pain?

How would you

How would

How

How

H

H

How would you rate your pain?

 

I do not understand. Tadashi was in fit physical condition. Given proper measures, he should live a long and healthy life.

 

I do not understand.

I do not

I do

I do not understand.

Downloading treatments for: depression

Treatment: Contact with loved ones. Contacting friends.

Friends contacted. Gogo, Honey Lemon, Frederick and Wasabi have all been contacted.

I am sorry.

I am.

 

I am sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Witchcraft will be updated tomorrow. As a reminder, fill in the poll. There's currently tie-breakers needed in more than one question, so please answer!


	4. Parallels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The differences between Tadashi and Hiro as they grow up.

Tadashi is two years old when he does his first magic trick.

            Mari’s scooping slightly old corn mash into his mouth when he pouts, tired of the sickening sweet mush, and jerks his head away. His actions do nothing but prod Mari Hamada to continue feeding him, gently cooing as he protests with soft “na”s and “un”s. Opposing her sits Tomeo Hamada, who laughs gently as he films Tadashi’s growing protests on his cellphone. Spoon hits cheek again as Tadashi frowns, gnawing at his closed lips.

            “Come on, honey, don’t you want any?” Mari whispers, cupping Tadashi’s chin with one hand as the other moves closer, corn mash on spoon. The toddler whines again, small arms flying up to push away the spoon. Corn ends up falling over him, but not until his mouth.

            “Oh, Tadashi, pleeassee?” Tomeo hides his chuckle in a forced cough as his wife mirrors Tadashi’s pout, widening her eyes puppy dog style. He had a history of falling for Mari’s tricks, but Tadashi, even at the age of two, seemed to have no defenses.

            “Na!” Tadashi repeated, twisting his body away from the camera. Tomeo didn’t bother hiding his laugh this time, shaking the phone as his wife shot him a look. Gesturing at Tadashi with pointed fingers, Tomeo hid behind the phone.

            “Tadashi!” Tomeo called. Tadashi paused in his avoidance of the spoon, turning to gaze at his father with wide eyes. The sight warmed the man’s heart.

            “If you finish that bowl, then we’ll go out for ice cream, okay?” Though Tadashi didn’t recognize all the words, “finish” “bowl” and “ice cream” rang clear for him. A wide grin spread across the toddler’s face, and he happily clapped his hand.

            “Gon! Gon! Don!” Tadashi babbled, pointing to the still half full bowl of churned corn. Mari raised an eyebrow at Tomeo, mouthing “look what you did” at the camera. Tomeo offered a loose shrug in return.

            “Gon! Ice! Ice!” Mari faked a groan as she dramatically rolled her eyes at her husband. Tomeo winked at her, imitating a smolder as he shouldered the table. The table shook, and combined with Tadashi’s fussing, knocked the bowl of corn off the table. One moment the two parents were locked in a fierce contest of silly faces. The next, Mari yelped at the falling bowl.

            Tomeo winced, expecting the loud smash in the record. He’d have to edit it out, or else every rewind with Mari would end in a serious ear-pinching. Maria and Cassandra really needed to talk about their ear-pinching habit.

            Except the crash never came. Mari stared dumbstruck at the spot where the bowl touched the floor, only to disappear. The bowl was… gone?

            “Mari! Mari!” Tomeo hissed. Mari turned to Tomeo, eyes still wide and mouth hanging ajar, as her husband not-so-subtly jerked his hand at Tadashi. She averted her eyes to her son, half expecting the child to be coated in corn mush. What she didn’t expect was a clean toddler happily spooning chocolate ice cream into his mouth.

            “T-Tadashi…?” Mari whispered, awed. Her toddler paused mid scoop, turning to his mother with a confused smile. A beat passed as father and mother stared at their son, until Tadashi broke into a beam.

            “Mama! Ice! Ice!” Giggles escaped from the two year old as he swung his legs, happily swallowing more sugar and cream than a child his age should consume. Actually, why was she letting this happen? Releasing a yell, Mari dove for the ice cream bowl only to grunt as she felt the table push against her stomach. Tomeo yelped as the table shook, phone dropping to thud onto the table. Tadashi stopped his eating to stare at his parents, decided that it didn’t concern him, and continued.

            “I regret everything,” Mari moaned, blowing a lock of hair to the side. Her breath did nothing but shake the hair, evoking a half-hearted glare. Tomeo gave a grin.

            “This video is going into the digital album.”

 

 

            They have the film ready for Hiro when he’s only one and a half. The child is smart-genius even. And Tadashi takes the fact with pride.

            Tomeo has his camera (a real one this time, pre-approved by Tadashi) ready at all times for Hiro’s inevitable reveal. Tadashi’s video had been shaky but nostalgic—Tomeo and Mari hoped that Hiro’s would be just as nostalgic with none of the blur. When Mari paused in babying Hiro, Tadashi would take over. Their second child would be spoiled, but no one bothered to stop the influx of affection and gifts.

            So Tomeo and Mari share quiet smiles when Tadashi shows Hiro his “magic tricks”. Hiro claps and squeals when the room erupts into sparkling bubbles and cakes appear from nothing. They don’t step in until they find the two boys stuffing a toy rabbit with gummy bears, and even then they allow it when Hiro tears up at the command to stop.

            They wait four months with film at the ready for the grand reveal. Every day passes as Hiro learns more, absorbs more and grows more. But there is no magic show. There is no spark for spells. Colors never flood their vision.

            It’s okay. Tomeo’s mother had been a late bloomer as well. Probably hereditary, they reasoned.

            The film melts in a fire nearly two years later, empty.

 

 

            Tadashi is four years old when his mom announces that he’s going to have a little brother. He doesn’t do much really other than blink and nod at her enthusiastic face and his father’s warm embrace, but any sort of acceptance was the same at the time. Happy and enamored with the new life in her stomach, Mari was too in love to take Tadashi’s bland approval as anything special.

            Tomeo had been a little more worried. Though Mari and Cassandra were now friends, he recalled stories of their youth where, in a jealous fit, Cassandra had stolen Mari’s favorite toy (a Barbie) and threw it out the window. In response, Mari had stolen Cassandra’s secret snack stash and gave it away to her classmates. And on the rhythm went, hit to hit until they reached twenty two and realized that there was more to siblings than fighting.

            But Tadashi didn’t seem to care much about his new sibling. Life went on the same for the child as Mari groaned, limped and whined about the new weight she carried in her day to day life. Most of it was serious complaints, but there was a reasonable amount of exaggerations as well. The couple shared laughs and love-filled gazes throughout the seven months of safety. When the eighth month came, they began to prepare for a new life in their family. Out went old knick knacks, dusty furniture and unused clothing. In came a variety of baby sized furniture, blankets and pillows. At the very least, Tadashi’s old strollers, clothing and toys could be reused.

            Tadashi is five years old and finally curious when his mother comes home, exhausted but proud, carrying a bundle of blankets in her arms.

 

 

            Hiro and Tadashi are a picture together at three and seven. Hiro sticks by his brother’s side at all times—even when his brother is at school and Hiro is with his parents or aunt, he wants to use Tadashi’s old blanket or toy to keep company. It’s almost obsessive and a little worrying, but Mari and Cass assure Tomeo that it’s normal at his age. Apparently before they entered their argumentative phase, they were like that too. Young, innocent and blissful. Tomeo wishes it can last forever.

            Needless to say, it doesn’t.

 

 

            Tadashi doesn’t know how the fire starts. All he knows is that dad is late to dinner, awfully so even though it’s not Monday or Thursday, and mom is starting to get worried. She tells him and Hiro to eat early, and she’ll stay up to wait for dad. He nods, pulls along a willing Hiro and prepares for bed early.

            Hiro asks why daddy isn’t home yet to tell him good night even though it’s a Wednesday night, and all Tadashi can offer is his own night charm. He sings a lullaby he learned from Molly and Davis, twins, in his math class. Hiro tosses and turns throughout the song, but within ten minutes he’s a still, snoring form. Tadashi crosses to his own bed, whispers the good night his dad should be saying, and closes the light.

 

 

            Dad doesn’t come home that night.

 

 

            Mari Hamada’s last words to her children are “Have a little faith in me, okay? I’ll come by later to check in on you boys.” It’s delivered with a laugh when Hiro asks if she’ll be alright waiting along for dad, and “won’t it be lonely waiting without daddy?”

 

 

            The door to the boy’s shared room is left ajar for a intended night visit, but the one who opens the door is not Mari nor Tomeo.

 

 

            Tadashi tries to kill someone at seven, young and irrational. He doesn’t quite know what he’s doing, but he does know that there’s a weird man in the doorstep holding something in his hands. One arm is dragging a too familiar head, while the other is raised and pointing at Hiro. It’s wild instinct that kicks him, dragging Tadashi from comfort inside folded blankets to in front of the man’s face, arms out and teeth gritted.

            Tadashi doesn’t know any spells at seven. He doesn’t need any.

 

 

            Hiro knows that he disliked spinach from a young age, and that he had a crazy sweet tooth that largely consisted of Tadashi feeding him cakes and cookies from who knows where while an infant. Hiro knows that Tadashi has a wide array of corny magic tricks, including pulling gummy bears out of his ear, which he practiced since youth. Hiro knows that Tadashi remembers the night of their parents’ death vividly.

            Hiro does not. He doesn’t remember his mother’s laugh, or his father’s promise to come home early except for two weekdays. He grows up memorizing his aunt’s work schedule instead of his biological parents. That’s okay, because Tadashi’s like his parent too.

            Hiro doesn’t remember much about his parents. That’s okay.

            He does remember a cat, slimmer than Mochi and much scarier, watching through the shadows as he fell asleep.

 

 

            Tadashi has never seen the cat before, but it roars as it launches itself at the man’s face. There are ten or so men there, probably less. He couldn’t tell between moving bodies, shouts and the noise of bullets.

            He turns to Hiro’s prone form, and growls. Something in him stirs, and he finds himself moving forward. Before anything can happen, someone crashes through the window.

            He’s not too sure about the rest of the night, but he knows that the man who saved him called himself something with an “R”. He had friends too, companions dressed in varying shining colors and who all seemed to glow brighter than the moon ever could. One of them held a thin, long rod.

            Tadashi sees that rod the following nights in his nightmares, when he does manage to sleep. It’s the same dream every night, bullets, fire and screaming. His mother’s dead face. What his mind thinks his father’s would be. It’s only the end that matters.

 

 

            Hiro clings to Tadashi in his new home. He doesn’t look anyone in the eye, and even refuses to talk to Aunt Cass. It isn’t until he’s nearly five that he looks her in the eye, and calls her “mom”. Aunt Cass cries.

            Hiro doesn’t ever mention their parents after that. Tadashi tries, but it’s a lost cause.

            Aunt Cass is the only mother figure Hiro remembers. The woman in his dreams, soft and beautiful as she cradles him in her arms, who calls him with adoration and smiles at anything he says, does not exist.

            To Hiro, Mari Hamada is nothing more than a name.

 

 

            The cat sits on the stick and stares at him with beady eyes. It smiles at the end of the dream. Tadashi wants to scream, or run, or do anything. He stands still and stares right back. It waits, time ticking by until he feels his body beginning to awake. The dream ends the same, regardless of the middle. The same phrase, repeated for nearly a year.

            “You’ll do.”

 

 

            A man Hiro doesn’t know pats his head when he visits the café. He’s irritated by the man, but Aunt Cass is familiar enough with him to prevent any insults. Still, Hiro avoids his table or getting too close. When he notices Tadashi doing the same, it makes him all the more on edge.

            The man talks to Aunt Cass for nearly two hours. They seem to be friends, sharing laughter and smiles. It’s not until near the end of the visit that something dawns in the conversation, and Aunt Cass looks like she’s about to cry.

            Hiro sees it before Tadashi, and runs up to the table yelling. He’s saying something about “what did you say” and “how dare you make her cry”, but Aunt Cass breaks into tears anyway. She’s laughing too; hot tracks soak her cheeks as her shoulders wrack with gargled words. Her laughter turns hoarse too quickly, and she gestures the man to take it outside. He throws Hiro and Tadashi a wave as they leave.

            Hiro doesn’t see the man ever again after that, but he doesn't forget the face until nearly a year later. Tadashi offers nothing but a blank face when he talks about the incident and even Aunt Cass gives a helpless shrug when he talks. It’s like the man never entered the café.

            Even if they don’t remember, Hiro will.

            A smile stretched a little too wide. His grin was too fake. The movements of a human should never feel so doll-like. Hiro is young, barely six when the man enters, but even then he knew. Even now, he knows.

            The man wasn’t alive.

 

 

            It takes Tadashi two years to realize that Aunt Cassandra’s neighborhood cat has chosen their café as his main home. It only takes two months of pleading for her to accept the cat into their lives. The cat is thin, almost sickly in appearance, but it moves too gracefully for the average street animal.

            They dub him Mochi after three months, as they watch the animal inflate from the food Aunt Cass makes him. The cat grows from stick thin to reasonably plump, and in a few more months, “dangerously fat and fluffy” as Hiro calls it. It’s a good change, they all think.

            Despite Mochi’s increasingly cuddly appearance body wise, he finds himself drawn to the cat’s eyes. They stay constant—piercing and clear. Awfully familiar too, to Tadashi.

            He’s certain that Mochi matches a picture in a book or some other media. Hiro says that nothing about Mochi feels familiar, but Tadashi is sure. He’s seen the cat somewhere; he just needs to find out where.

            He never thinks to look into his dreams.

 

 

            Hiro is eight when he’s officially outgrown magic tricks. He insists that “magic doesn’t exist” and that he’s “old enough to recognize old tricks”. Tadashi is stuck between amused and dumbfounded, and settles on coy. It disturbs Hiro and gets him on guard, to say the least.

            Tadashi tries to “wow” Hiro with magic tricks for the rest of the year, but the younger brother offers nothing but roll of eyes or a groan. By the seventh month, Tadashi doesn’t know what else to do. He reveals it all to Hiro—their parent’s past, their history, and his skills.

            Hiro stares at him in the eyes, mulling over the information. After a few moments, he bursts into laugher and calls Tadashi crazy. He says that his brother will have to try harder to fool him.

            Hiro is certain that his brother rigged every presentation. Every trick, every piece. His brother, he reasoned, was just obsessed with magic. Technology was everywhere—it wouldn’t be hard to rig up something similar to magic.

            Hiro could do it too, probably. He was certain of it.

 

 

            Tadashi hits puberty before he uses magic again. Hiro’s words at twelve stung hard, and struck hard too. He’s uncertain and worried about anything resembling magic. Science is easy. It’s all logic, weaved together in factual expressions and formulas. Tadashi and Hiro can do science. It’s universal.

            Magic is not.

 

 

            Hiro can’t figure out Tadashi’s old tricks even at fourteen and tired. He sketched and mapped, wrote too many blueprints for a childhood challenge. But it’s written in the shared Hamada book, and he can’t back down. Besides, Tadashi never fulfilled his challenge either.

            “The truth behind magic tricks” had yet to be explained. But it’s fine.

            Hiro will figure it out himself. He just needed time.

 

 

            Science is fascinating. Tadashi is enamored with it. He fills his life with science. It’s everywhere, at any time, all at once. It’s amazing and constant. He loves science.

            At fifteen, Tadashi gets a visit from a very old dream. The cat is no longer slim, but fat and slow. It’s almost comical, except the feeling of déjà vu brings fear with it, and Tadashi finds himself unable to move even in the dream. The cat saunters over, eyes slit and glowing. It’s familiar, unbearably so. Tadashi knows the words this time, and mouths them along with the cat as he finds himself awaking.

            “You’ll do.”

            Tadashi opens his eyes to Mochi on rocket boots and Hiro’s maniacal laughter.

 

 

            Hiro never figures out Tadashi’s magic tricks before his brother disappears. The challenges remain unfinished in the Hamada book. Hiro forgets about it, just as he did his parents. Old time tricks mean nothing to him now.

            All that matters to him now is avenging Tadashi.

 

 

            Hiro didn’t need magic to Tadashi. He was the perfect little brother—mischievous, annoying and the “smartest in the whole universe”. Tadashi loved Hiro, and Hiro loved Tadashi. Simple math. Simple science. Nothing more, nothing less.

            Just a little, Tadashi wishes that Hiro could have found magic. Tadashi wishes that he could visit Hiro with no worry, and indulge in long discussions just as they did with science. Tadashi wishes that he could reverse time, go back to that night. Tadashi wishes that he could save everything that had been lost.

            All the magic in the world can’t help Tadashi. And frankly, neither can science.

            That doesn’t stop him from trying.

 

 

            Hiro doesn’t remember his parents. He doesn’t remember old magic tricks, or stuffing his toys with gummy bears. He doesn’t recall the video tape his parents filmed of him, or the many times he caught his dad doing something unnatural. His dad had done many unreal things, but Hiro doesn’t remember any of it.

            That’s fine, because all Hiro needs to remember is in front of him. It’s on an even display, pages of pages of blue prints. It’s all Hiro needs to get to work.

            He can’t save Tadashi, he knows. He can’t go back in time to get his brother, to pull him from the fire. He can’t change fate, the flow of time. He isn’t magic.

            But he stares at the display in front of him, and smiles.

            He can’t change the past. But he can fix the future.

            Nothing can stop him from trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of Witchcraft Works! It has quite a few spoilers haha...
> 
> Anyways, to Witchcraft readers, an update on the poll! Every character in BH6 has gotten at least one vote (yayyy) but there was a landslide for a certain character to be a witch. Two other characters were quite popular but with the second voting, there is now a clear second winner. However, there is still a week left, so it is possible that the third in line can catch up.
> 
> As for poll comments: Thank you for the person who mentioned the timeline error with Naomi, it has been fixed! To the other anon who asked about Ronald and triggers, the tags of Witchcraft will be properly updated when the story comes into play. If there is anything I forgot to tag, just write a comment and I'll update the tags. To the anon who wanted genderbent!Tadashi... it's probably not going to happen. I specified no shipping or nsfw, and genderbent!Tadashi/Hiro counts as shipping, so no. Buuutttt, I'm sure you can imagine at some point in time where he has to be discussed as a girl.  
> If there are any other errors/comments, don't forget to either fill out of the poll or leave a comment! Thanks again for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This ended up fluffier than expected.
> 
> * “ Itai no itai no tondeke!” is Japanese for "pain, pain fly away" which is a common quote sung to young children when they get cut. It's similar to someone kissing an injury to make it feel better.
> 
> If you want, you can read the main fic here: [Witchcraft](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3550760/chapters/7818596). This fic will mostly house fluff and plot bunnies that I can't tackle in my main fic.


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